Using Energy Dispersive X-Ray Measurements for Quantitative Determination of Material Loss Due to Corrosion

Corrosion is a general term for the oxidation process of metal. In the case of aircraft, corrosion on aluminum airframe skin can often be recognized by dulling or pitting of an area, and sometimes by the white powdery deposit of aluminum corrosion product. Corrosion in these areas means loss of aluminum material from the airframe skin. Thus corrosion can seriously affect the structural integrity of an aircraft unless proper inspection and maintenance is systematically performed. During heavy structural aircraft maintenance, corrosions are still defined mostly in a qualitative rather than a quantitative sense. The qualitative evaluations are biased and unpredictable because corrosions are extremely hard to detect and to predict in their early stages of formation